Friday, December 31, 2010

Lazy article.....Top 15 things I have notice about Kerala, India...

I am going to take a page out of Rick Reilly's book, and just be a lazy writer. As many of you know, I have been in India since Christmas, and here are some things that I have noticed, in five minutes or less:

* We have driven around here a lot, and I have only seen 1 commercial gym.

* There are less 300lb people here. I am not talking about the actual weight as much as there are less people who seem to have said "fuck it" as far as their health goes.

* That being said, there are less really buff people here as well. Almost like a State of Mediocre.

* These people here eat sugar and rice like they are in a contract year. Their tea tastes like candy. And they eat all the time. They find excuses to eat.

* Driving in India is crazy. This could be a blog post in and of itself. I don't even like walking around the streets. If you like personal space, you won't have it here.

* Women spend a lot of money on jewelry here.

* Women's saris can be pretty ornate, they are like a status symbol.

* The exchange rate is really attractive here. About 45 rupees to 1 USD. Here are the cost of some item. Junk food is really cheap. Almonds are really expensive. Gold is very expensive. Electronics are expensive. Clothing is really cheap. Cable TV and BB Internet and ridiculously cheap.

* Working out without equipment is really interesting. Looking forward to my weight in when I get home.

* I haven't had good quail ever till I came on this trip. Here is how you do it: Fry it crispy.

* Forgot my fish capsules, eating a lot of fish.

* There seems to be no breakfast food. All meals look about the same.

* There are no diet sodas in India. Even though it is not Paleo, the first thing I am getting when I get back is a Diet Coke.

* Not as many cows running around as I remember.

* The kids nowadays learn English early. What does that mean. Probably more outsourcing. Earlier English skills combined with Satellite TV means any barriers to outsourcing are much less.

* There are 20 Million Indians that live in other countries. What they do is go to other countries where they can make more money like the UAE, Saudia Arabia, US, and the UK and send some money back to India. Big influx of cash and India is thriving.

* Indians are eating a lot less rice. My dad's family were big rice farmers and they are making less of it.

* They are, however, driving more cars, scooters, motorcycles, and trucks. More rubber. My dad's family is making more rubber. The real stuff from trees. Good thing, if you have a flat tire on a Kerala road, you can probably kiss your ass goodbye.

Kettlebell Workshops

I will be hosting two Introductory Kettlebell Workshops in the month of January;

* Saturday, Jan 8th @ 10:30 AM (To register)
* Saturday, Jan 15th @ 10:30 AM (To register)
* Saturday, Jan 29th @ Core and Joint Mobility Workshop

==> All workshops will be at Xtreme Athletix, 1505 W Cypress St., Tampa, FL 33606

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Trip to India....

I will be out of the country for 13 days. I am not bringing any kettlebells with me, it is just not worth the hassle to bring them. Here is how I am going to manage while I am gone.

1) First and foremost is managing diet. I will be trying to stay Paleo, which to me is leading every meal with meats and proteins. This staves off hunger.

2) Walk about 2 miles a day. This should be easy.

3) Fish oil supplements. This should help cravings for fats.

4) Need to research any customs regulations on spices. We import a lot of spices from India. Wonder how good the 'Real McCoy' is going to be. I have a feeling just like oranges, the best stuff is exported.

5) The Turkish Get Up is not limited to kettlebells. I will be doing the TGU with a lot of random objects.

6) Will try to limit naan bread and biryani rice.

7) I am bringing a Yoga DVD. Side note: I wonder if people that do Bikram in India are as annoying and anal retentive as the ones in the US.

8) I am hoping to find a barbell.

9) Mobility drills with a broom stick.

10) Pistols and One-legged planks.

I weigh about 176, hoping to come home at no higher than 172.

Then I will kick everyone's ass in my classes on 1/6.

Not sure how often I am going to be able to track progress. But I have a new video camera and will post updates as soon as I am able.

Enjoy your holidays and your new year!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

January Double Snatch Challenge

Here was today's workout. Enter The Kettlebell-Variety Day 1 (aka, do whatever you feel like doing).

Barbell Cleans:
65, 85, 105, 125 x 2 x 1
145, 165, 185 (PR) x 1
==> Hey boys and girls, I can finally clean more than my bodyweight.

Overhead Squats (Snatch Start):
85 x 5; 105 x 4 x 5 (intended to go heavier, but not feeling it)

Double Snatches:
AMAP for 10:00 - I did top of the minute for 2x10+8x8 plus another 3 in the last 9 seconds for a total of 87. Not too bad, not great. A "never tried before" PR.

Dimel Deadlifts: 205 x 2 x 20 (I love these)


****************** Challenge Update *******************


Last year around this time, Jack Reape offered up the Jack Reape Deadlift Challenge.

The rules of the challenge were simple:
* Load up a bar to 315 lbs and
* Do as many deadlifts as you can in 30 minutes.

I got 154, and it was probably one of the workouts that I remember most for a long time. I was sweating bullets for a long time after and my T-levels were sky high for a couple of days. The double snatches had a similar feel.

Well, I am offering up a similar challenge:

The Faizal S. Enu Double Snatch Challenge


* Find two equally sized kettlebells,
* Snatch them as many times as you can in 15 minutes,
* Send your name/alias, bell sized used, and number of reps completed.
* The challenge must be completed during the month of January.

==> I want to make this event more inclusive, so I am not forcing a bell size. You want to snatch two 16s because you are a smaller guy or just not comfortable with 2 24kg bells. You feel two 24s are too light, snatch heavier. Lady comrades, I would like to see you compete as well. 8kg, 12kg, etc. Doesn't matter. Grab the bells by the horns and put up a number.

The challenge is not about how you do against everyone else. It is about how you do against your previous best and the effort you put in. Also, you will self-discovery a snatch tip or two.

WHO'S WITH ME?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

KFC Outrage about Gift Cerificate...

Supposedly health experts in Australia are mad because KFC is offering gift certificates.

As far as I am concerned, this is absurd. Not that KFC is offering gift certificates, but that fact that health "experts" are outraged.

First off, it is a gift certificate. It is not like they are giving a discount for stuff that is bad for you. Or that the goverment is giving subsidies to make it cheaper. It is a gift certificate. It is no different than giving cash.

Also, KFC has one responsibility when it comes down to it. And it is not to the long term health of the general public They have a fiduciary responsibility to increase shareholder equity, they seem to be doing it. Health experts have a responsibility to make us healthier. They are failing miserably. Just look at the obesity numbers. I am not relying on health experts (not good at it) or KFC (why do they care?) to be healthier.

I guess personal accountability is dead.

By the way, if you think the gift certificates you receive are bad for you, send them to this address in protest.

Faizal S. Enu
2109 Bayshore Blvd., Unit 210
Tampa, FL 33606

Top 10 non-paleo foods.

I have been doing really well with this Paleo diet.

In the book is says that you can get 95% of the results with being 80% compliant. Sounds good to me. Here are my top 10 non-paleo foods.

1. Beer - Sorry, not giving this one up. And a NorCal margarite does not do it for me. The Hellfire Margarita at Tampa Bay Brewing Company is close.

2. Fried Chicken of all kinds: Especially chicken wings. I used to be able to eat 50 in one sitting. This is not so far on the scale, so I have wings once a week. Tampa Bay Brewing Company has a wing special every Tuesday night. (Are you starting to see a pattern).

3. Chicken Parmasean sandwich: Unfortunately, I have to avoid this one. I love sandwiches. Just the chicken, sauce, and cheese will not suffice. Which brings us to...

4. Classic Chicken Sandwich: Simply the best fast food EVER. Now they are on sale BOGO. Now for the bad part, here is the nutritional information.

5. Bagels: With peanut butter, or flavored cream cheese, or even just butter. Unfortunately, there are not high enough on the "Orgasmic Scale" (phrase from my Paleo Guru Charlie @ Xtreme Athletix) to even be considered.

6. Peanuts and Peanut Butter: Still eat them, but more cashews and almonds. Peanuts are much cheaper, but about a factor of 4 to 6.

7. Scones: My favorite thing to have with coffee.

8. Hot Dogs: Used to have one once a week at the Ybor City Saturday Market. Now strictly off limits. If you say "Just don't have them with the bun." you don't know what a hot dog is about.

9. Protein Shakes: Still have one when I don't have access to good animal protein, but it is not ideal.

10. Protein Bars: These are pretty much a waste of money. They are usually made from the cheapest protein available. Good Eats did a good episode about the kind of protein in them.

Some Random Sports Thoughts....

I decided to write about the first 10 topics that came to mind. Football coaches and sports etiquette seem to be hot topics of the day.


1. Tashard Choice asking Michael Vick to autograph a glove after the game

My only comment to this: Who cares! The game is over. Eagles won, Cowboys lost. Shake hands and go home. Just because some fans can't get over it doesn't mean Choice can't. Ridiculous. Also, they know each other, Choice was at Georgia Tech when Vick was playing for the Falcons.


2. On Derek Anderson smiling during losing effort on Monday Night football

What do you expect him to do? He is on the sideline, there is nothing that he can do to help the team. It wasn't like he was ROTFLHAO. It was a smile.

As anyone who has every coached a sport knows, sometime you need to get the athlete to RELAX. Sometimes telling them to smile helps. I have used that in coaching soccer, bowling, and even with the kettlebells.

Anderson's rant at the reporter was deserved. I mean, do you remember every facial express that you have on the field. I bet I know what Duece Lutui said to him: "I wonder what would happen if we put Matt Leinart in there?" or "Hey, why don't you smile right now, and some jock-sniffing reporter is going to make a big deal out of it in the post game press conference."


3. The New England Patriots killing the NY Jets and Chicago Bears.

Impressive, but they are only one game. For some reason, it seems that when you destroy a team in the regular season, it can come back to haunt you in the post-season. We will see. By the way, this is not a very talented Patriots team. Belicheck's best coaching job EVER!


4. Why is no one giving any props to the 11-2 Atlanta Falcons. They are a complete team, well-coached, and have a great QB in Matt Ryan. They are just completely under the radar, and I don't get it.


5. Jason Garrett's job with the Dallas Cowboys.

I will say that Dallas (my team) is playing much better. When I watched them play under Wade Phillips, they didn't look like they were slacking as much as they were unprepared. They also seemed to make a lot of mental mistakes. When that happens, the coach HAS TO GO. Jason Garrett, who I think sucked as offensive coordinator, is now 3-2, with the two losses coming to quality teams with a back up QB Jon Kitna. I think if he goes at least 5-3 he will be Head Coach, if not they will look for someone else, and they will probably go the "Deserving Coordinator" route (like Mike Smith, Raheem Morris, Mike Tomlin, Tony Sparano, Rex Ryan) rather than the "Recycled Head Coach" one (Cowher, Gruden, etc.).

6. Jon Gruden needs to stay on Monday Night Football.

Enough said.

7. Al Golden selected as University of Miami Head Coach

Good choice. If you can win and recruit at Temple, you can do it anywhere. Golden was successful because they were starting to keep players from Eastern PA and New Jersey. Miami has a much bigger recruiting haul. If they can recruit there, they will win. There are a couple of things that he will have to fight against:

A) Some players from Miami want to get out of there. Miami was hit very hard by the recession.

B) With Florida Atlantic and Florida International in the mix, those that want to stay in Miami now have more options. Normally you can say that Miami should get whomever they want. But the reality is that all schools get on TV and all schools are looked at by the NFL, so there is more parity in programs nowadays. A player will choose a school based on playing prospects and the system and not just the school.


8. Will Muschamp being named Head Coach at Florida.

Good for him, but he wouldn't have been my first choice, or second,.....or third. More like seventh. I guess Urban Meyer couldn't handle the stress of losing. He should smile more like Derek Anderson.


9. Josh McDaniels fired as Head Coach of the Denver Broncos.

Saw it coming. A head coach needs to be an "Alpha Male", but also needs to work with other Alpha Males (Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall). He couldn't. When you demand to be THE Alpha, you make everyone else a Beta - and a whole teams of Betas is going to lose. He is young, and will get another chance. I do wonder what this means for Tim Tebow however, as a new coach's system may not suit his skill set.


10. Why I love the BCS!

A. The two best teams have a chance to play each other.
B. The regular season matters.
C. New Year's Day is my favorite sports day ever.
D. By playing one playoff game instead of three, future NFL star don't risk getting injury and losing MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to play a game that they don't have a financial stake in.
E. It has forced teams to bump up their non-league schedules a tad.
F. The Conference Championships matter.
G. The other bowl games matter more. We get to see "bigger picture" of which conferences are better.
H. Probably doesn't belong here, but I think it is bullshit that Temple (8-4) was not invited to a bowl game.


You are probably wondering why I didn't write about Sal Alosi, the NY Jets Strength and Conditioning Coach who tripped a Dolphin Nolan Carroll on the sideline. That is because:
* I have no idea what he was thinking (must have held his breath on too many squats), and
* I don't know what a suitable punishment is.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

$1 Fitness Game Changer

Today's AM Workout was a very simple one:

13 Rounds of:
* Dance Dance Revolution (Expert Speed)
* KB Swings: 32kg x 20 (in this case the 20 swings were the active recovery for DDR)

Pretty pedestrian workout under normal conditions. The game changer: Something I picked up from the Dollar General kid section for only a dollar.

1201001416

Thats right kids, a snorkel. Not sure if you can see it in the picture, but I stuffed part of a paper towel in the bottom section. Just to make it that much harder.

I can tell you this, not only is the workout harder, but the fat burning effects are increased dramatically. The heart rate goes up because you are increase the lactic acid being made in the absence of oxygen, similar to training at altitude. This is similar to the Tabatas, but instead of compressing the rest, you are restricting the airflow. I can definitely feeling the EPOC effects hours after the workout.

Is this something you should do all the time? No. Is it something you can use? Most likely, especially in the following two circumstances:

* You don't have a heavy enough bell, now you will get similar effects from a lighter bell.

* You have an injury. May you can't do snatches, but you can do swings and make them harder.

Again, it costs $1, and I have always said no unitaskers (Bosu's, PVC pipe, treadmills, etc.) in a home gym. If you ever need to keep your head slightly underwater while swimming, there you go. So essentially, this game changer is free. You may even already have it.

Check it out and tell me what you think.